Erik Olson: New Work - Assemblages

Following his recent exhibition at the Art Gallery of Calgary, Erik Olson (07) turns his gaze from the mountain pine beetle infestations in Western Canada to the increasingly complicated architecture of a surging human population. Erik's latest paintings are projections of a nature transformed by human activity articulated in thick oil. Over the past three years the artist has traveled to various locations around the globe gathering impressions of the built environment to inform his paintings. From rickety shacks in Honduras to construction sites in New York City to mega-structures in Beijing, Erik creates sculptures in paint as part of a search for the systems underlying human development. These mega-structures, sprawling crowds, and buzzing cityscapes swarm the surface of the canvas, capturing populations expanding exponentially, seemingly beyond control. Viewed as a whole, this body of work is an attempt to synthesize the often overwhelming complexity of a rapidly assembled human ecosystem.

Assemblages marks Erik's first solo exhibition with Summit Fine Art.

January 10 to February 14, 2009
Summit Fine Art
604 10th Ave SW Calgary, Alberta
For more information email Emily at info@summitfineart.com or call 403.457.5477